MILWAUKEE — Brewers right-hander Aaron Civale is moving to a bullpen role for the first time in his seven-year career. His next move could be out of Milwaukee entirely.
One day after the Brewers announced they were shifting him to the bullpen to make room for flame-throwing prospect Jacob Misiorowski in the rotation, Civale said he wants to continue starting, even if that means getting traded.
“We’re exploring opportunities for me to get back into a rotation, whether that’s here or elsewhere,” Civale said Thursday. “That type of decision is out of my hands. We’re exploring the options to give me the chance to do what I do best, and that’s to go out there and start.”
Civale’s agent, Jack Toffey, made the trade request to Brewers general manager Matt Arnold shortly after the team informed Civale he was moving to the bullpen. Toffey said the conversation was “very professional” and that Civale is merely examining his options.
“Aaron is not angry or banging his fist on the table,” Toffey said, according to The Athletic. “But it’s a little confusing because he did not pitch his way out of the rotation whatsoever. It’s more of a subjective choice the organization is making.”
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Civale, who turned 30 on Thursday and is eligible for free agency after the season, spoke to the media before Misiorowski tossed five scoreless innings in his major league debut to help the Brewers win 6-0 in the opener of a four-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Misiorowski’s arrival gave Milwaukee a surplus of starting pitchers. Civale (1-2, 4.91 ERA) was the odd man out when the Brewers opted to go with a rotation of Misiorowski, Freddy Peralta (5-4, 2.69), José Quintana (4-1, 2.66), Quinn Priester (4-2 3.65) and Chad Patrick (3-6, 3.25).
“I’m not trying to leave this organization,” Civale said. “I’m in a position physically where I feel like I can contribute best as a starting pitcher. Right now, that’s not in my plans here. That’s not to say that can’t change, but the reason that would change is not necessarily a good thing. That means something happened to somebody else.”
Although Civale has made two career postseason relief appearances in 2022 with Cleveland and 2024 with Milwaukee, he has been a starter for all his regular-season performances in the major leagues and minor leagues. Civale said his last regular-season relief performance came in college at Northeastern.
“Whatever’s next, I’m not exactly sure what’s going on,” said Civale, who owns a 40-37 carer record with a 4.06 ERA. “This is typically early in the season for a trade to go down, but I know what I can do. I think a lot of people know what I can do. Whatever the next steps are, they are. Go from there.”
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said he doesn’t believe Civale’s disenchantment should cause a distraction that might hinder the Brewers.
“We deal with players being unhappy all the time,” Murphy said. “That’s their right to do. Aaron’s got a great history. He’s performed well for this organization. He’s got a right to feel the way he wants to feel. Now it’s time for him to go behave, and he’s got to go pitch for us if we ask him to pitch for us. And I think he will. He’s that type of guy. I respect him a great deal.”
Civale said he will do what the team wants from him. Civale said he’d be ready to work out of the bullpen as early as Saturday, since that would be five days after his last start.
“If I end up finding my way back to the rotation here, that’s awesome,” Civale said. “If it’s somewhere else, that’s awesome, too. But for the time being, I’ll do what’s asked of me, go out there and compete . That’s what I do best.”
The Brewers acquired Civale from the Tampa Bay Rays last July, and he signed a one-year, $8 million contract in the offseason that enabled him to avoid arbitration. Civale had joined Tampa Bay a year earlier in a trade-deadline deal with the Cleveland Guardians.
Civale went on the injured list this year after straining his hamstring in his first start of the season, a 12-3 loss to the New York Yankees before going on the injured list with a hamstring strain. He returned to action May 22 and has allowed seven runs over 19 innings in four starts since.
“This is not a situation where I’m trying to leave this team,” Civale said. “The other guys are great. The coaching staff’s great. The players are great. I really love competing with all of them. It’s just I feel like I still have more to contribute and more to this game, and I feel like I’m best suited to do that as a starting pitcher. I’ve worked very hard to get to this position.
“There’s no ill will toward anybody. This city has been a great home to me and my wife for the past year. I know there’s probably going to be some animosity towards this type of thing. There’s a negative connotation when this type of thing comes around, but I’m just trying to do what’s best.”
The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.
